How Seurat Painted La Grande Jatte (1884–86) | Stroke by Stroke

Watch Georges Seurat, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, 1884–86 come together stroke by stroke, from blank canvas to final touch, set to music by Satie. Seurat spent about two years preparing this canvas, with dozens of oil and pencil studies. Over broad color masses he laid short, crossed strokes — called 'balayé' — before applying the small dots of pure color that define pointillism. Years later, he added a painted border of dots as a transition between the scene and the frame. This is an interpretive animation: a plausible reconstruction of how the canvas may have been painted, not a historical record of the artist's process. Chapters 0:00 The canvas and the base tone 0:28 The sketch and the studies 0:54 The large masses of color 1:54 Crossed brushwork 2:59 Dots of pure color 4:16 The dotted border and the final touches 4:53 The finished work Painting: Georges Seurat, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte (1884–86). Art Institute of Chicago, 1926.224. Public domain image. Music: Satie, Gnossiennes No. 1 and 2, piano by "La Pianista", public domain. Legendas em português disponíveis (botão CC). Art&Art — Great paintings. Classical music. #Seurat #LaGrandeJatte #Pointillism #Satie